John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will open discussions with his French counterpart to ensure crews on ferries operating between the UK and France are paid under British or French minimum wage regulations.

Stephen Hammond

The issue was discussed at length at the recent maritime roundtable, at which industry including the maritime unions were present. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, working with this Department and HMRC, will review the application, guidance and enforcement of the national minimum wage towards seafarers, to ensure that employers are aware of their responsibilities and employees are aware of their rights. As part of this, we will consider a targeted enforcement programme for this sector.